The P5+1 (United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, and Germany) and Iran have struck a deal on how to implement the nuclear deal made in November. The official news agency of Iran stated that the agreement will begin on January 20th. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi confirmed the news and an official joint statement is expected to be released in Geneva and Tehran.
U.S. President Barack Obama praised the agreement and said that it was the first step to “advance our goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.” Obama added that the P5+1 and Iran “will now focus on the critical work of pursuing a comprehensive resolution that addresses our concerns over Iran’s nuclear program.”
The President also said “I have no illusions about how hard it will be to achieve this objective, but for the sake of our national security and the peace and security of the world, now is the time to give diplomacy a chance to succeed.”
EU negotiator Catherine Ashton commended the agreement, saying “the foundations for a coherent, robust, and smooth implementation…have been laid.”
According to senior U.S. officials, as of February 1, Iran would receive $550 million in blocked funds out of a total of $4.2 billion. This would be the first payment to Iran since lifting sanctions. Economic sanctions will be eased for a period of six months. During this time further negotiations with Iran are to be continued in order to reach a permanent deal.
In exchange for monetary relief, Iran has agreed to limit its uranium enrichment to 5 percent. Iran has also agreed to stop producing uranium at levels higher than 20 percent enrichment and reduce its stockpile of already enriched uranium.
However, the deal does not stipulate that Iran is forbidden from producing technology needed to enrich uranium. In December, Iran announced that it was creating a new generation of centrifuges, a crucial technological tool needed to enrich uranium to potential deadly levels.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the deal a “historic mistake.” Netanyahu has demanded that Iran be stripped of all its enrichment capabilities. He believes it is only a matter of time until Iran achieves its nuclear dreams and carries out its threats against Israel and the western world.
